Likes and Dislikes
by luffyluffy
Summary: A quick character study for Jigen's character. Jigen takes a walk around town and talks with a blind old lady.


Author Note: I wrote this in like 10 minutes as a quick character study for Jigen. It probably has a ton of errors, but I don't care. Please enjoy.

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He hated a lot of things. Hated taking his hat off indoors. Hated that feeling of being watched from behind. Hated when people told him he couldn't smoke, doubly so if they pulled his cigarette from his lips. He hated women, and he especially hated Fujiko.

But he also liked things, he wasn't a heartless stone golem. He was a man of simple pleasures; the first cigarette after you woke up. A fresh slice of cake. The thrill of hitting a far-away target, of getting away with a ridiculous heist. He liked cleaning his magnum. He liked Lupin.

Jigen stood from where he sat and twisted, stretching out the sore muscles in his back. His entire body felt crumpled, as though he'd spent the last several nights curled in the fetal position, sleeping in a box. Which was the truth. Lupin had wanted some stupid emerald to give Fujiko for valentine's day. He'd roped Jigen and Goemon into stowing away on a massive cruise ship by hiding in shipping containers. The plan had worked, but at the cost of Jigen's spinal integrity. He was alone in their hideout apartment, and he suspected Lupin had left to find food.

"Damn, he should have woken me up." Jigen grumbled, twisting his torso again in the other direction. A series of pops and cracks, and Jigen sighed luxuriously, finally feeling at home in his own bones again. He checked his pockets and found a wad of bills in the local currency. On the table was his trusty magnum, which he quickly pocketed.

"Guess I better go and find him."

Plucking the keys off a rack by the door he excited quickly and, as casually as possible, made his way down and out of the building. He only stopped once to say hello to the old blind woman down the hall, but that was only because she thought he was her grandson Johnny.

"Johnny? Johnnyboy is that you?"

She'd memorized the sound of his footsteps, the crazy old bat. Rolling his eyes he stopped by the door and tried ("tried") to act as sincere as possible. If he said he was out to find food she'd probably offer to feed him. She pulled the door open; Jigen wondered how she managed to find it. After many conversations with the woman, he had learned that she lived alone, so whenever he wasn't busy he humored her.

"Johnny, where are you going? You worry your grandma when you leave without telling me." Her unseeing eyes stared past him. He found himself wondering if one day he'd go blind, from cataracts or otherwise. He certainly hoped not, his eyes were his life, and it's not like he could just get cybernetic implants like they do in cartoons. But, considering his lifestyle he'd probably be dead long before he grew old enough to go blind naturally.

"Yeah Granny, it's me. I'm out to go play poker with my buddies." He smiled at his deception. "I'll win ya a nice gift, okay?"

She froze, making a strange face. Jigen could imagine the gears in her head whirring to life.

"Poker? … Ah, my husband used to play. Wait here, I'll—" No no no! Jigen grabbed her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it Granny, I've got it all under control. Why don't you go and lay down? You seem kinda tired."

Again, she stopped and thought, and then her face relaxed.

"Lay down… ah, all right. You be back soon, alright? Before dark, your grandma worries about you, you know."

He smiled. It seemed like he'd learned a few tricks from Lupin over the years.

"Yeah Granny, don't worry." It's not like she had any sense of time anyway.

Now on the streets Jigen shoved his hands in his pockets and kept his head low. He wasn't likely to be recognized, but you really couldn't expect Pops. He was like a force of nature, a wave rolling in on the shore as Goemon would probably put it. Jigen lit a cigarette and ducked through an alleyway. Stopping to buy a cookie from a bakery he found, he walked around aimlessly. He would have preferred to run into Lupin, but he didn't have to. He disliked just waiting. Waiting was a waste of time, time which could be better spent doing much more worthwhile things. He paid to walk through a museum perhaps to find something they could steal later. But he doubted Fujiko had any interest in dinosaur bones. His wandering lead him at the city's port. Salty sea air assaulted him, rough gusts of wind going right to the back of his nose and threatened to pluck his hat from his head. It was good though, and he breathed deeply, treasuring the smell and taste of the air. It brought back memories, some good and some bad, but memories none the less. He suddenly wondered if Lupin could steal all the oceans waters, and began to laugh. If there was anyone who could accomplish such a stupid, ridiculous, incredible feat, it was probably him.

"Hey, Jigen!"

He turned.

"Well, speak of the devil." He said with a half smile, staring at Lupin. He was holding two big brown bags, filled to the tip top with canned goods. At the top were canned sardines.

"Eh? You were talking about me?"

"More like thinking. What's with the fish?"

Lupin leaned forward a little as best he could without letting the cans fall from the bag. One bag was filled entirely with fish products. The other held important stuff like peanut butter and granola bars.

"They were on sale, so I stole them all." He said excitedly, before bursting into a peal of laughter. Jigen laughed too before grabbing one of the bags.

"Come on, let's get out of here. This salty air's giving me a headache."

"Yeah!" Lupin was obviously excited as they walked briskly back to the apartment.

"So, I found something good for us."

Jigen raised an eyebrow. Not that the gestured mattered considering they were hidden by his hair.

"I'm not crawling into another box." He said sharply.

"No no, don't worry! No boxes this time! Or boats. Actually it's on a plane and you guys have to—"

"I don't want to hear it!" he barked at him before jogging ahead, the bag of cans rattling with every step.


End file.
